


Ribbons

by TheCityLightShow



Series: Prompt Fills [8]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, F/M, Fluff, Get Together, Hair Braiding, sneaky Natasha is sneaky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-09-19 13:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9442820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCityLightShow/pseuds/TheCityLightShow
Summary: He’s got a list up – Jarvis taking dictation – and his options look like this;- Sam doesn’t like him or dislike him enough to do it.- Steve can’t be truly sneaky for shit.- Bruce’s not the kind of person to be like that. Also: can he actually braid hair? Tony doubts it.- Rhodey’s not here every time Tony sleeps, so while one could’ve been him, Jarvis assures him it’s the same person, so Rhodey’s out.- Pepper’s never here, so it’s not her.- Clint would have the ability to sneak in and out – as he’s proven more times than Tony is truly comfortable with – but he and Barnes (who also has the sneakability required) are out on a mission.- Which leaves Natasha.She, like Clint, can sneak in and out. He knows she’s done it before, and he’s never brought it up.Though why the hell is she braiding hishair?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EuterpesChild](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EuterpesChild/gifts).



> A prompt for Euterpeschild, because I wanted to write these guys and ze doesn't even ship them.
> 
> For the prompt: Tony keeps forgetting to get a haircut, so Natasha sneaks in while he's sleeping and braids it.

Tony’s not had a hair cut in a while. Not only is it _his_ hair, so of course he’s noticed, but Steve’s commented on it, Bruce has, Nat has, Rhodey has, Pepper has and _Sam_ has. All he needs is Cold War and Bird Brain to join in and he’ll have run out of people _to_ comment. (Well, there’s Thor, but he’d probably call it majestic or something. Thor is incapable of throwing any kind of shade.)

It’s not even that long! Yes, he has to sweep it out of his eyes Bruce, no, it doesn’t get caught in the suit Steve, yes, there’s a slight curl to it Natasha and no, he pulls off longer hair way better than Bucky, Sam. It’s not that long, and he suits it – but it’s just long enough that someone keeps braiding it.

There’s a line of little braids along the right side behind his ear. He took the first few out as he found them, but the fourth one had a red ribbon braided in with it, and Tony found he rather liked it. It’s only a tiny braid, after all. He had asked Jarvis who was doing it, but the AI’s been sworn to secrecy, and it takes the fun out of it to pull creator priority and demand an answer.

There’s seven, now, one for each time he’s slept since he stopped removing them. Four behind one ear and three behind the other, with red, gold, blue and white ribbons added into them. Pepper had been horrified when he attended a board meeting with them in, but after an explanation had given him a pleased, knowing smile, and protested no more.

 

He’s got a list up – Jarvis taking dictation – and his options look like this;

  * Sam doesn’t like him or dislike him enough to do it.
  * Steve, despite his battlefield grace, can’t be truly sneaky for shit (though he plays to his strengths in prank wars, do not under estimate).
  * Bruce’s hair is a similar length, and he’s not the kind of person to be like that. Also: can he actually braid hair? Tony doubts it.
  * Rhodey’s not here every time Tony sleeps, so while one could’ve been him, Jarvis assures him it’s the same person, so Rhodey’s out.
  * Pepper’s never here, so it’s not her.
  * Clint would have the ability to sneak in and out – as he’s proven more times than Tony is truly comfortable with – but he and Bucky (who also has the sneakability required) are out on a mission.
  * Which leaves Natasha.



She, like Clint, can sneak in and out. He knows she’s done it before, to leave him snacks when he’s running low, and occasionally she leaves him trinkets that she’s somehow acquired on missions. He’s never brought it up – though he returns the trinkets by bringing the odd thing back from a business trip, and hiding it by one of her many knife stashes.

Though why the hell is she braiding his _hair?_

And how does he ask without actually, you know, asking her?

 

The solution comes three braids later – and now he’s got two red, two gold, two blue, one white, one black, one silver and one bronze altogether – in the form of little beads he finds online. They’re shaped like the red hourglass that is Natasha’s symbol, and he’s bought them before he’s thought about _why_ – and when they arrive at the tower the next morning, in a little box in his workshop with a post-it from Steve asking about movie night that evening, the first thing he does is panic.

Even if he is right, and it is Natasha braiding his hair, he still doesn’t know why – and she might well laugh at him if he asks. Worse, she might stop, and Tony’s rather attached to the tiny little braids that – as his hair keeps growing – sit underneath and rest against the back of his neck. He takes a deep breath, reminds himself that they’re friends and she at least appears to have some form of soft spot for him, and checks with google how to do a simple plait.

He practises several times with his fringe flopped in front of his face, and then carefully – taking four times as long, it feels like – braids one of the tiny wooden hourglass beads into a tiny braid, in between his most recent two. He removes the ones from his fringe as a second thought, and goes back to his work until movie night.

 

It’s immediately apparent that Clint and Bucky are back from their mission when he steps out of the elevator – and no one else had mentioned the braids yet, but if there’s anyone asshole enough to break that silence, it’s these two. (Introducing them was everyone’s biggest mistake, truly it was, no matter if they’re both happier and healing for their _we’re just friends for now_ thing they’ve got.) Tony grins and throws himself on the couch in between Bruce and Steve, his feet in the latter’s lap, mostly so that the back of his head – and the braids – aren’t facing the two of them.

They didn’t say a word. Movie night was the usual combination of thrown popcorn, irate Steve, witty banter and quiet laughter from the beautiful redhead in the corner. It was two and half movies before people started falling asleep and they decided to stop – it was a movie they’d all seen before, and Tony hadn’t been paying attention to begin with, hand playing with the braids and his thoughts in the corner. Steve dragged Bucky off back to their floor, the former mostly carrying the other, and Bruce bade them all a quiet goodnight and joined them in the lift to return to his own floor. Sam paused to chat to Clint for a moment, and Natasha simply picked up her book from by her feet, and resumed reading like it wasn’t past one in the morning. Sam gave Tony a half wave before he stepped into the returned elevator. Silence reigned when he’d gone, and Clint was staring at Tony.

“Can we talk for a moment, man? I’ve got some notes from the mission.” Clint spoke eventually – and it wasn’t unusual, the team often had notes and ideas after missions, and Tony always did his best to make them work – but something in his tone let Tony know that that wasn’t what this was at all. Tony gestured for Clint to lead the way and followed him to the elevator – he glanced back as he stepped in, and smiled when he found Natasha watching them go.

Tony lead them out into the workshop, and Clint hopped up onto the tall stool he preferred, twirling a pencil in his hands like he often did an arrow. “You know it’s Tasha doing the braids, right?” he asked, and Tony sagged into his chair.

“I don’t know why,” he admitted, “but I was fairly certain.” Clint nodded slowly.

“How many?”

“Including the three I took out? Thirteen.” Clint frowned.

“You have eleven in your hair.” He accused and Tony could feel heat flooding to his cheeks for the first time in years.

“I- the eleventh is me. Kind of asking?” Clint grinned at him suddenly and Tony scowled. “It seemed like a good idea at the time!” he defended, and Clint just carried on smiling.

“She’s more than capable of hurting you herself, but if you do wrong by her…” Clint trailed off. “I’ll say the same to her. I’ve known her since she defected. Once upon a time, I was the reason why.” Clint was staring off, somewhere over Tony’s shoulder, serious in a way Tony forgot he could be. “But you’re a good friend Tony. I like her choice. Just don’t let her regret it, okay? She’s got enough of those.” Clint caught Tony’s gaze then, back to himself, and it was only the tiniest bit awkward.

“I-“ Tony started, but stopped when he realised he didn’t know what to say. He’d always admired Natasha, and resigned himself to doing so from afar; falling in love with the former KGB agent hadn’t been in the plan, and a part of him had fought it kicking and screaming. It had happened anyway – and apparently, happened back. Somehow.

There was every chance Tony was going into shock.

He swallowed. “I won’t.” he promised, and Clint grinned, shot him a tiny salute, and left. Tony stared at the little bag of beads tucked away behind the keyboard, before grabbing them. His head was too loud for him to work tonight, and he was nearing 48 hours awake anyway. He stepped into the elevator when Jarvis opened it for him, intending to sleep in his bed for once with the beads as blatantly there as he could manage without rigging up a tiny neon sign and spotlight.

That plan failed when the doors opened on the common floor without a word. He stepped out without asking Jarvis, the beads safely in his pocket, to find Natasha was still curled up in her armchair reading. She didn’t look up when he came in, but a smile curled the edges of her lips. Tony stood for a moment, just watching, not really waiting, before heading into the kitchen. “Drink?” he called out to her, and glanced back to see her nod, but she didn’t indicate a preference. There’d been nights where they’d drunk too much vodka and painted nails before, but this wasn’t one of those nights. It took little thought before he’d started making hot chocolate, taking care to add peppermint the same way Jarvis used to when he was a kid.

He set both the mugs down on the little glass side table by her chair when he was done – marshmallows on the top and all – and sat down at her feet. She hummed a thanks, but didn’t put her book down for a few pages, when she dogeared the page and placed it on the table beside her mug. She handed his mug down, and he took a sip happily, content to risk leaning his head against her knee as she sipped her own. She reached a hand out to tousle the back of his hair lightly, and paused, before she set the mug down.

“You added another.” She murmured, and Tony couldn’t tell what she thought of it one way of the other, but he imagined that same slight smile. “Where did you find the beads?” she asked, a little louder than before, and Tony tilted his bead back so he could smile up at her.

“A little shop online.” He admitted, and hummed happily when she brushed his fringe from his face. She smiled down at him.

“Lean forward.” She asked without making it a question, and Tony did as he was asked, shuffling a little when he realised she wanted to get to the braids. Actually being able to feel her messing with his hair… it was comforting, and he smiled as he realised she was neatly redoing his braid, bead and all. She tied it off, and began another braid. A few minutes passed, and then she held out her hand by his face. He reached into his pocket for a bead, and let his hand linger in hers a moment when he passed it over. She finished off the braid – and he now had twelve in total, with space left for only one more – and tapped his shoulder. He turned around, letting her take his mug, and waited. It wasn’t that he was nervous – though he was – but more that this was Natasha’s moment, a little point in time that she’d lead them to, and he would always let her have it.

“I like them.” He whispered after a moment. “I- thank you. They-“ _mean a lot,_ is what he’d intended to say, but she leant forward then and kissed him, just once, on the forehead, and his tongue had tied itself in knots. She laughed quietly, and tugged him up so that he was kneeling in front of her. She didn’t move more though, so Tony took that as his cue – leaning forward to close the gap between them, to kiss her at last. She was smiling when she pulled back, more than just that slight curl, with a light to her eyes that Tony would lose himself in.

“Come on.” She said, shoving him backwards gently and standing up. He scrambled up, and took her hand when she held it out. Her hand was slight in his, but not as smooth as he might’ve imagined – she had callouses, well-cared for but there – and she tugged him into the elevator, picking up her book as she did. “Sleep.” Was all she said as an explanation, but for the moment, Tony didn’t want anything else, as the elevator finally reached the penthouse.

He had her smile and her braids and her hand – he had her, and that would always be enough.

 

 

_There was a thirteenth braid when he woke up in the morning, that Jarvis informed him had a blue glass heart braided in, and a sleepy redhead curled up with him._

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to give me a prompt, send me an ask at my **[tumblr](http://thecitylightshow.tumblr.com/)** , and I'll get to it soon!
> 
> Also, if any single one of you wants to come scream at me about Natasha/Tony, IronWidow (which and what ever you want to call it) please please hit me up on tumblr, I have such a growing love for this random little ship and I want to talk about it more. <3


End file.
